The Things You Own May Own You

With holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, President’s Day sales we can sometimes forget that having things is a lot of work. We always want new things, and then we later regret that we own those things, because we feel controlled by owning those items. So here is a story I have were something I owned began to own me.

It all started at a friend’s house where he had an old motorcycle in the corner of his garage that hadn’t been ridden in about four years. I had always dreamed of a motorcycle my entire childhood, so I asked him if he never rode it why did he still have it? Then without a thought, I just asked if I could have it. He thought for a second, and replied, “Ok, but the title is in my deceased brother’s name.” That’s easy I thought and took the motorcycle home. I had no license to operate it, and technically I didn’t own it yet, so I spent $200 on a mandatory class on motorcycle safety and how to drive one. Then I spent $100 for an all right helmet, and another $68 at the DPS for the license. I still didn’t own the motorcycle because the tax office needed proof of a person who died seven years ago in Alaska existed and that his brother just gave me the motorcycle valued at $300 (It was a 1978 Honda). After, a small tax bill, administrative fees, and some other fees I paid $80 and finally after 4 months could ride the motorcycle I got for free, legally. The weather was nice by then and I rode everyday after work for about 2 weeks. Then it got too hot, but I felt like I had to ride the motorcycle every week, since it was there. Then the weather was nice again in the fall and I rode to work some, but I didn’t enjoy it very much. As winter approached, I learned that I had to drain and winterized the motorcycle of gas and certain fluids. I didn’t know what I was doing and gummed up the carburetor to the point where it cost me $175 and then it needed new tires for another $200. Again, I felt obligated to ride the motorcycle as often as possible. It got to the point where the open road was so forced I was riding angry, so I finally smartened up and sold the dang thing for $450 and it stopped running again just before the sale. So, I paid a neighbor $50 to help me out to get it sold. AAHHHH!!

The moral of the story is simple…sometimes our things begin to own us. I have made this mistake with other items in my life such as the 3 months I had a jet ski and the summer I had a camper. Both began to own me and make me spend on things I usually would have never spent money on. We do this for our cars, houses, sentimental items, and many other items unnecessarily. I felt an incredible relief when each of these items was gone from my life. I felt the weight of the stress they were giving me and once they were sold I felt that stress lessen and eventually vanish from my life.

If you have items in your home of life that own you, get rid of them and begin to feel better! Clean house today, don’t wait another day, and make craigslist your best friend by getting rid of stressors and putting cash in your pocket.